In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d come up with a list of some (big & small) screen kisses. This time, I thought I’d characterize them to emphasize that these are in no order and not necessarily my top ten favorites.

Top Ten Kisses

The Kiss I Wanted to Have: Angela & Jordan, My So-Called Life
That secret crush on the hottest guy in school I had as a teenager? There it was, playing out on the TV. How could I not put it on the list?

Plot-Driven Kiss: Buffy & Spike, Buffy: the Vampire Slayer
Though many kisses out there are fueled by plot, the kiss between Spike and Buffy in “Once More With Feeling” (which could easily have been a gimmick episode) is so crucial to the entire series and the character development.

The Highly Unlikely But Bravest PDA Kiss: Seth & Summer, The O.C.This is how the geeky boy gets the girl.

The Hottest First Kiss: Brian & Justin, Queer as Folk
Really, a montage of every one of their kisses would be most appropriate, but their first kiss is definitely something special

Obligatory Fandom Kiss: Peter & Mary Jane, Spiderman (2002)
Just like that scene from Titanic, any fandom kiss list has to have this upside-down kiss on it. It’s a rule somewhere.

The Inevitable Kiss: Ennis & Jack, Brokeback Mountain
A kiss that just had to happen and when it did, it was so full of every emotion in the book.

The Kiss That Changed History: George & Lorraine, Back to the Future Part 1
At least, it changed Marty’s history. The whole moving hinges on and builds up to this moment

The Kiss with a Love Declaration: Han & Leia, Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes back
Not their first kiss, but certainly the most memorable for me.

The True Love Kiss: Westley & Buttercup, The Princess Bride
Even the narrator thinks it’s the best kiss of all-time

The Most Romantic: Lady & the Tramp
I’m with Michael from Queer as Folk on this one: best screen kiss of all-time.